With the Algarve region experiencing the biggest drought since records began, the commission monitoring the effects of the drought meets this Wednesday in Faro, along with a presence from the Government.
The plan put in place is expected to limit water consumption in the Algarve.
The 18th Meeting of the Permanent Commission for Prevention, Monitoring and Monitoring of the Effects of Drought will be chaired today by the Minister of Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, and the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes, from 2:30pm, at the headquarters of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, in Faro.
Among the proposals to combat the Algarve drought, solutions that include reducing water consumption by around 70% for the agricultural sector and 15% for consumers have been presented to mayors and other associations in the Algarve, particularly in tourism and urban agriculture.
The Minister of the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, acknowledged that the situation is serious and stated that the Government is considering reducing the pressure, suspending second meters and even penalizing those who consume more water.
In the case of the agricultural sector, Duarte Cordeiro highlighted the need to ensure survival agriculture through a reduction in water availability in the Odeleite reservoir by 70% and in Funcho-Arade by 50%.
A tender is expected to be opened this month for the construction of a desalination plant for the Albufeira area, with a capacity of 16 million cubic metres.
For her part, the minister of agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, has already admitted that, to minimize the drought situation, boreholes could be rehabilitated and “small mobile desalination plants” could be used in Algarve agriculture.
These measures have been contested by associations of farmers and producers in the Algarve, as well as irrigators in the eastern Algarve, who consider the planned water cuts “unaffordable”, “unbalanced” and “unfair”.
After this Wednesday's meeting, a resolution should be published, that will bring together all of the ongoing decisions.
Source https://postal.pt/
